Livable Centers Study

The Greater Southeast Management District and Museum Park Super Neighborhood (MPSN) were awarded a $250,000 master planning grant, the Museum Park Livable Centers Study, by the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC).

The SWA Group, a leading international landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm was selected to create the master plan for the Museum Park Livable Centers Study. The study is expected to be underway by summer 2015 and completed by year end. The timeline and public participation opportunities will be posted and distributed as soon as available.

The Greater Southeast Management District is the government sponsor for MPSN, a grant requirement. H-GAC is a voluntary association of local governments encompassing thirteen counties of the Texas Gulf Coast. H-GAC’s mission is to serve as the instrument of local government cooperation, promoting the region’s orderly development and the safety and welfare of its citizens.

The MPSN was responsible for raising a 23% local funding match, or $56,500, which was accomplished in early 2014. The Museum Park Neighborhood Association, as an MPSN stakeholder, was instrumental in raising and managing this match.

The goal of the study is to address Museum Park challenges that have developed with the success of the area, including the need for better transit, bike lanes, parking, sidewalks, crosswalks, sustainable streetscapes, bus management, way-finding signage, and the complete lack of a sense of place. The best destinations in Houston are right here, but they’re among the most difficult in the City to access.

A Museum Park Livable Center study will result in a master plan that, when implemented, will offer safer transit and pedestrian-friendly access to our 12 million annual visitors. Currently the whole is less than the sum of its parts; the goal is to create a destination that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Most importantly, winning this grant opens doors to opportunities for implementation money. Of the recently completed Livable Centers studies, resulting construction dollars have ranged from $10 to $25 million. We appreciate the support of the City of Houston, who was critical to our winning this very competitive grant and the Greater Southeast Management District for sponsoring this effort. We thank all those who generously donated including the Museum of Fine Arts, Hines Development, Hotel ZaZa, Holocaust Museum, TEMA, Greater Southeast Management District, Museum Park Modern, Intexure Architects, and many of our Museum Park Neighborhood Residents.